Web guiding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A web guide roll is bodily translated in a direction parallel to its axis to one or the other side of an intermediate bodily position and in opposition to lateral shifting of the web. At the same time, the steering action of the roll on the web is varied as a function of the translation of the web to one side or the other of such intermediate bodily position while maintaining the roll axis normal to the desired direction of web travel.

United States Patent [191 Avery et a].

[ Jan. 8, 1974 WEB GUIDING APPARATUS [75] Inventors: R. Stanton Avery,Pasadena, Calif.;

Robert T. Scharenberg, Mentor; Gordon G. Zeidman, Columbus, both of Ohio[73] Assignee: Avery Products Corporation, San

Marino, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 2, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 329,223

[52] US. Cl 226/179, 226/19, 226/190 [51] Int. Cl B65h 17/22 [58] Fieldof Search 226/15, 18-23,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Tokunaga 226/20 3,295,7361/1967 Leimer et a1. 226/190 2,752,151 6/1956 2,332,104 10/19433,095,131 6/1963 Robertson et al. 226/190 Primary Examiner-Richard A.Schacher Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Att0rneyHarold F. McNenny etal.

[57] ABSTRACT A web guide roll is bodily translated in a directionparallel to its axis to one or the other side of an intermediate bodilyposition and in opposition to lateral shifting of the web. At the sametime, the steering action of the roll on the web is varied as a functionof the translation of the web to one side or the other of suchintermediate bodily position while maintaining the roll axis normal tothe desired direction of web travel.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 8 I974 SHEET 1 OF 2 FIELD OFTHE INVENTION This invention relates to web guiding apparatus, andparticularly to a web guide roll.

PRIOR ART REFERENCES Prior art references include the following US. Pat.Nos.:

and the following British patents:

2,062 of 1881 11,654 of 1906 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventionmakes it possible to achieve an excellent trade-off between cost ofguide roll apparatus and quality of performance of the apparatus,particularly with respect to quality of guiding action, but also withrespect to adaptability to varying conditions and varying degrees ofwrap. The guiding action of apparatus incorporating the invention isexcellent. In some applications performance is believed to beoutstanding. Such belief is based on applicants lack of knowledge of theexistence of other guide roll apparatus, regardless of cost, havingsimilar capabilities. For example, the invention can provide for goodguiding action by a single guide roll on a continuous non-closed-loopweb (to be distinguished from a closed-loop web such as an endlessconveyor belt) around a full 180 wrap. Applicants know of no other rollwith such a capability. However the advantages of the inventions novelguiding action are substantial regardless of the degree of wrap, and inmany applications the invention may be used with only a small degree ofwrap.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of web guidingapparatus embodying the invention, with the middle portion broken out tosave sapce in the illustration, and with one end partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of the roll seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 with anelastomeric cover included and part of the cover broken away. The rollas shown in the first two figures does not include a cover.

FIG. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale taken from the planes of line 4-4in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on a further enlarged scale takenfrom the planes of line 55 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an end view taken from the plane of line 66 in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT The roll body generally indicated at 10 iscarried on a frame which includes a cross beam 11, an upstanding splitblock 12 rigidly mounted on the cross beam 11, and an upstanding rigidsub-frame 13 also rigidly mounted on the cross beam 11.

The shaft bearing block 14, provided with a boss 15, is received in abore in the split block 12. A bushing sleeve 16 extends through theshaft bearing block 14 and boss 15. Another bushing sleeve 17 issupported at the inboard end of the sub-frame 13. The bushings 16 and 17support a shaft 21 for sliding movement. The shaft 21 is adapted forsliding movement in the bushings 16 and 17, but is held against rotationrelative to the shaft bearing block 14 by a key 18 (shown only in FIG.6).

The roll 10 is carried on the shaft 21 and is supported thereon forrotary motion by bearings 23 (FIG. 4) and 24 (FIG. 1). The shaft 21 doesnot itself rotate during operation of the guide roll 10. However theshaft 21 is adapted to be translated in the axial direction to one sideor the other of its illustrated neutral position by a hydraulicactuating cylinder 26 carried by the subframe 13 and operably connectedto the shaft 21 by the cylinder rod shaft coupling 27 which has thecapability of accommodating slight misalignments. The limits of bodilytranslation of the roll 10 to one side or the other of its illustratedintermediate position are illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 1, andone limit is also similarly illustrated in FIG. 4.

The roll proper comprises a tubular beam 30 rotatably supported on thebearings 23 and 24. The beam 30 is provided with a plurality ofslideways 31 (FIG. 5) each formed along the entire length of the tube30. The slideways 31 are provided around the entire annular extent ofthe tube 30. Slats 32 are received and keyed within the slideways 31 asshown in FIG. 5. The main body 33 of each slat 32 may be formed ofaluminum, and the tube 30 may also be formed of aluminum. An elastomericface 34 may be adhered to each body portion 33 so that the tops of theslats will present a surface of elastomeric material rather than metal.

When a continuous roll surface is desired, or when it is desired toenclose the slat array for purposes of dirt protection, a sheath orsleeve 35 (FIG. 3) may be provided in surrounding grouping relationshipwith the entire array of slats 32. This sleeve 35 aids in retaining theslats 32 in the slideways 31, and where such a sleeve is not provided,encircling elastic bands (not shown) or the like may be provided aroundeach end of the array of slats to similarly aid in slat retention.

The slat body portions 33 and the bottoms of the slideways 31 areprovided with appropriate grooves (FIG. 5) which receive ball bearings.The ball bearings are held in spaced relationship along the lengths ofthe slats by retainers 37 (FIG. 5) which are simply plastic strips withpairs of holes punched at regular intervals along the strip lengths toreceive the ball bearings. At one end of each slideway 31 an anti-driftpin 38 is provided (FIG. 5) which is received in a slot in the retainer37 that extends a short distance along the length of the retainer. Thisarrangement allows each retainer 37 to move longitudinally with theshifting movement of its associated slat 32, but prevents the retainerfrom drifting out one end or the other of the slideway 31.

As most clearly seen in FIG. 4, the slats 32 overhang the tubular beam30 at one end. These overhanging slat ends surround a camming pinassembly generally indicated at 40. This assembly includes an innernonrotating bearing block 41 and an outer rotating bearing block 42. Aplate 43 fixed to the non-rotating bearing block 41 is in turn fixed toan arm 44 which carries a cam follower 45. A cam track 46 is formed in astationary cam member 47 which is bolted to the shaft bearing block 14.

The non-rotating bearing block 41 surrounds the shaft 21 in spacedrelationship therewith and is pivoted to the shaft 21 on a cross pin 49(FIG. 4) which extends from each side of the shaft.

A number of camming ins 51 are provided around the periphery of therotating bearing block 42 in one to-one association with the slats 32.The camming pins are provided with heads which are received in linedsockets within the ends of the slats, to provide pin-andsocketconnections generally indicated at 52. Provision may be made foradjusting the degree of extension of the pins 51 in the mannerillustrated.

The orientation of the cross pin 49 and hence of the pivot axis of thecamming pin assembly 40 with respect to the cross beam 1 l and otherframe members may be adjusted by loosening the bolt 53 associated withthe split block 12 and then rotating the shaft bearing block 14 to thedesired degree before retightening the bolt 53. Such adjustment causesthe shaft 21 to rotate through a corresponding angle because it is keyedto the shaft bearing block 14 by the key 18. The pin 49 extending fromthe shaft corespondingly rotates through the same angle. This in turncauses the camming pin assembly including the normally non-rotatingbearing block 41 to move through a corresponding adjustment and to carryalong the arm 44. The stationary cam member 47 also automatically movesthrough a corresponding adjustment because it is fixed on the shaftbearing block 14.

OPERATION The illustrated guide roll apparatus may be used with a webhaving any desired degree of wrap up to 180 or more. Assuming a 90 wrap,the illustrated apparatus may be used to guide a web without theprovision of auxiliary rolls. The web location may be sensed by anyconventional sensing and control means (not shown) designed to determinethe degree and direction of error in web location and to supply acorresponding power signal to actuating cylinder 22 to move the rollassembly in a correcting direction. The sensor or sensors of suchsensing and control means may be located closely adjacent the on-feed oroff-feed points of tangency of the web with the roll or even at the rollitself when the nature of the sensor means permits monitoring of weblocation on the roll itself.

Assuming a 90 wrap with the in-feeding web reach on the near side ofFIG. 1 and parallel to the plane of the paper in such view, and theoff-feeding web reach feeding deeper into FIG. 1 in a plane normal tothe plane of the paper, the apparatus will operate at the adjustedposition shown in the drawings. However for some web materials steeringaction may be improved by adjusting the position of the shaft bearingblock 14 to thereby shift the angular location of the cross pin axis 49approximately in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the leftend of FIG. 4 or FIG. 1.

Other web materials may require other settings for optimization ofguiding action. These angular adjustments are not critical, and for manygiven web materials and degrees of wrap, the adjustment may be variedwidely to either side of an optimum setting, which itself may beapproximated by simply varying the adjustment until a setting is foundwhich appears to correlate with the most sensitive guiding action. Careshould be taken that the phase relationships necessary for properguiding action are not inadvertently reversed as by adjusting theposition of the pivot axis 49 through a angle to thereby cause thecorrective steering action of the apparatus to work in opposition to thecorrective bodily translation of the roll assembly.

It will be understood from the foregoing that when the camming pinassembly 40 is tilted to any degree, the slats 32 are forced toreciprocate, with eavh revolution of the roll, along the axial directionof the roll and relatively to the roll body through a complete back andforth cycl to one and then the other side of a central position of zeroaxial displacement.

The imaginary plane defined by the intersection of the axis 21 and thecross pin axis 49 may be referred to as the neutral plane because eachof the slats 32 is in its central position of zero axial displacementwhen passing through this plane even when the camming pin assembly istilted and regardless of the degree of tilting. Advantageously, theangular position of the neutral plane of the present apparatus may beadjusted while the apparatus is in operation by loosening the bolt 53,shifting the shaft bearing block 14 to a new setting and retighteningthe bolt 53.

It will be further understood from the foregoing that when the roll body10 is in its intermediate bodily position as illustrated in thedrawings, the camming pin assembly is not tilted in either direction,and the amplitude of back and forth movement of the slats with eachrevolution of the roll is zero. As the roll body 10 is shifted to oneside or the other of its intermediate bodily position, the cam follower45 and cam 46 interact to force the camming assembly 40 to tilt in onedirection or the other, the degree of tilting depending upon the degreeof displacement of the roll body 10 from its intermediate bodilyposition. The degree of tilting of the camming pin assembly 40determines the amplitude of reciprocation of the slats with eachrevolution of the roll body. The direction of tilting of the camming pinassembly determines the direction of initial movement of the slats ineach cycle of reciprocation.

It is to be noted that the axis of the shaft 21 remains perpendicular tothe desired direction of roll travel at all times. The steering actionof the roll asssembly 10 is achieved by the reciprocating movement ofthe slats 32.

When the sleeve or sheath 35 is employed, the motion of the slats 32 isimparted to the points on the surface of the sleeve so that the surfaceof the roll crawls back and forth in a reciprocating movement in amanner suggestive of a snakeskin.

Other linkages may be employed to accomplish a similar snakeskin actioncorrelated in the same way with bodily translation of the guide roll inaxial directions to one side or the other of an intermediate bodilyposition. For example, guide roll apparatus could be provided whoseconstruction is identical to that of the illustrated roll except for theroll proper which would be comprised of a series of non-rotating bearingblocks tied to the non-rotating bearing block 41 for pivoting movementtherewith about the roll shaft, and a series of rotating bearing blocksassociated with such series of non-rotating bearing blocks. The cammingpins 51 and the slats 32 and tubular beam 30 and associated memberswould be eliminated in such a construction, and a rubber sleeve woulddirectly surround the rotating bearing blocks. The snakeskin action ofsuch a construction would be similar to that of the illustratedapparatus, but it would lack the advantages of simplicity and strength,and particularly depth of section, of the tubular beam construction ofthe illustrated slat roll.

Similarly, a roll consisting of a number of segments such as the roll 19of US. Pat. No. 2,349,242 could be employed with a linkage that wouldcause the tilting of the individual segments making up the roll 19 ofsuch patent to tilt progressively more in one direction or the other asthe roll body comprised of such sections are bodily translated to oneside or the other of an intermediate bodily position. However it wouldnot be possible to surround such a roll with a single continuouselastomeric sleeve.

In the accompanying claims, surface of the guide roll refers to theweb-contacting surface of the roll whether it be an elastomeric sleeve,slat faces, annular bearing block peripheries, tilting segment surfaces,or whatever.

What is claimed is:

1. Web guiding apparatus including a web guide roll mountabletransversely to and in arcuately extending contact with a web to beguided in a desired direction of web travel, means to bodily translatesaid guide roll in axial directions to one side or the other of anintermediate bodily position in response to and in opposition to lateralshifting of the web to be guided, means for shifting the surface of theguide roll in the axial direction as the guide roll turns to therebyprovide a steering action of the guide roll on the web while maintainingthe roll axis perpendicular to said desired direction of web travel,said last named means changing the intensity and direction of itssteering action proportionately to the degree of displacement anddirection of displacement of the guide roll from its intermediate bodilyposition.

2. Web guiding apparatus including a web guide roll mountabletransversely to and in arcuately extending contact with a web to beguided, means to bodily translate said guide roll in axial directions toone side or the other of an intermediate bodily position in response toand in opposition to lateral shifting of the web to be guided, points onthe surface of the guide roll being reciprocable, with each revolutionof the roll, along the axial direction of the roll and relatively to theroll body through a complete back and forth cycle to one and then theother side of a central position of zero axial displacement, theamplitude of such reciprocation being zero when the roll is in itsintermediate bodily position, the amplitude varying from zero directlywith the displacement of the roll from its intermediate bodily position,the direction of initial movement of the points in each cycle ofreciprocation changing according to whether the roll is on one or theother side of its intermediate bodily position.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 in which the roll comprises a tubular beamportion of a depth of section almost as great as the outside diameter ofthe roll for strong support against bending load deflections, and aplurality of slats slidingly guided on the tubular beam portion.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 including camming means for controlling thesliding movement of the slats as a function of the rotation of the rollto provide such reciprocation of points at the surface of the roll.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4 in which the direction and degree of tilt ofthe camming means is mechanically linked to the direction and degree ofsaid translation of the guide roll to one side or the other of saidintermediate bodily position.

6. Apparatus as in claim 3 in which the slats are surrounded and coveredby an elastomeric sleeve.

7. Guide roll apparatus including a roll comprising a tubular beam, endbearing means at the ends of the beam, axially extending slideway in theoutside surface of the beam, and slats in the slideways, said roll beingmountable transversely to and in arcuately extending contact with a webto be guided in a desired direction of web travel, means to bodilytranslate said roll in axial directions to one side or the other of anintermediate bodily position in response to and in opposition to lateralshifting of the web to be guided, means comprised at least in part ofsaid slats for shifting the surface of the roll in the axial directionas the roll turns to thereby provide a steering action of the guide rollon the web while maintaining the roll axis perpendicular to said desireddirection of web travel, said last named means changing the intensityand direction of its steering action proportionately to the degree ofthe displacement and direction of displacement of the roll from itsintermediate bodily position.

1. Web guiding apparatus including a web guide roll mountabletransversely to and in arcuately extending contact with a web to beguided in a desired direction of web travel, means to bodily translatesaid guide roll in axial directions to one side or the other of anintermediate bodily position in response to and in opposition to lateralshifting of the web to be guided, means for shifting the surface of theguide roll in the axial direction as the guide roll turns to therebyprovide a steering action of tHe guide roll on the web while maintainingthe roll axis perpendicular to said desired direction of web travel,said last named means changing the intensity and direction of itssteering action proportionately to the degree of displacement anddirection of displacement of the guide roll from its intermediate bodilyposition.
 2. Web guiding apparatus including a web guide roll mountabletransversely to and in arcuately extending contact with a web to beguided, means to bodily translate said guide roll in axial directions toone side or the other of an intermediate bodily position in response toand in opposition to lateral shifting of the web to be guided, points onthe surface of the guide roll being reciprocable, with each revolutionof the roll, along the axial direction of the roll and relatively to theroll body through a complete back and forth cycle to one and then theother side of a central position of zero axial displacement, theamplitude of such reciprocation being zero when the roll is in itsintermediate bodily position, the amplitude varying from zero directlywith the displacement of the roll from its intermediate bodily position,the direction of initial movement of the points in each cycle ofreciprocation changing according to whether the roll is on one or theother side of its intermediate bodily position.
 3. Apparatus as in claim2 in which the roll comprises a tubular beam portion of a depth ofsection almost as great as the outside diameter of the roll for strongsupport against bending load deflections, and a plurality of slatsslidingly guided on the tubular beam portion.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 3including camming means for controlling the sliding movement of theslats as a function of the rotation of the roll to provide suchreciprocation of points at the surface of the roll.
 5. Apparatus as inclaim 4 in which the direction and degree of tilt of the camming meansis mechanically linked to the direction and degree of said translationof the guide roll to one side or the other of said intermediate bodilyposition.
 6. Apparatus as in claim 3 in which the slats are surroundedand covered by an elastomeric sleeve.
 7. Guide roll apparatus includinga roll comprising a tubular beam, end bearing means at the ends of thebeam, axially extending slideway in the outside surface of the beam, andslats in the slideways, said roll being mountable transversely to and inarcuately extending contact with a web to be guided in a desireddirection of web travel, means to bodily translate said roll in axialdirections to one side or the other of an intermediate bodily positionin response to and in opposition to lateral shifting of the web to beguided, means comprised at least in part of said slats for shifting thesurface of the roll in the axial direction as the roll turns to therebyprovide a steering action of the guide roll on the web while maintainingthe roll axis perpendicular to said desired direction of web travel,said last named means changing the intensity and direction of itssteering action proportionately to the degree of the displacement anddirection of displacement of the roll from its intermediate bodilyposition.